Friday, April 09, 2010

"From Dead to Worse" Book 8 in the Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris

I'm not sure if it is whether I'm becoming more of a fan of these books or if they just keep getting better, but what I do know, is that Charlaine Harris has cram-packed more action into this book than any of the other seven in the series. There's a battle for pack leadership among the werewolves, A hostile coup which leads to the King of the Nevada vampires taking over for Louisiana and Arkansas, and Sookie finds out her great-grandfather is a Fairy Prince. Okay maybe this should all be explained further.

Before I explain the actions in this book I want to say that I'm hoping the HBO series "True Blood," which is based on this series by Charlaine Harris, makes it to eight seasons so I can see this book unfold on my tv. The series is what got me curious about the series, and I'm glad it did. Okay actually it was the book "My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding" (a collection of short stories by various supernatural authors) but I've explained that before. It was after I read the story I heard they were making a series, so I watched the series and was hooked and had to read the books, and the books are way better.

Basically Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic barmaid in Bon Temps, Louisiana, has been forced into the supernatural world after all the world's vampires have come "out of the coffin," which is to say they've revealed their existence to the non-supernatural world. Sookie has fallen in love with a vampire, a werewolf and finally a weretiger. She has found out that she has a real fairy godmother, and that the supernatural has many more creatures which were once only thought to be myth.

In this book, just weeks after the events in "Altogether Dead" and about a year after Hurricane Katrina devastated Louisiana, Sookie's boyfriend the were-tiger, Quinn, is missing. It's as if he's dropped off the face of the Earth. Just as she decides he'll contact her when he wants, she is confronted outside of Merlotte's (the bar where she works, with her boss Sam the shapeshifter) by an Asian vampire. This vampire says he just wants to find out if what they say about her is true. After all Sookie did save the lives of the Queen of Louisiana and her entourage.

After talking with the area vampire sheriff (Eric Northman, a former lover of Sookie's) she finds he knows of no such person in the area and should alert him if she sees him again. Eric then asks Sookie out for dinner. She accepts and on the way to the restaurant Eric says he's bringing her to meet someone. As it turns out that someone is Sookie's great-grandfather, only not the one she thought she had. It turns out that her real great-grandfather is a fairy prince, Niall Brigant, Niall explains the story and Sookie now has to rethink all her family's history. But that does explain why she is irresistable to the vamps and may explain her telepathic powers. He then says to make up for lost time he wants to give her anything she wants. She can't think of anything but takes a rain check.

On the way home Sookie and Eric are attacked by a werewolf, and as it turns out all the femal pack-members are being targeted. The Shreveport werewolf pack has had been divided and in turmoil since the new leader killed to become the leader now so it looks like the wolves are going to have a major battle, and Sookie is right in the middle, after all one of her former boyfriends, Alcide Herveaux, was the son of the pack leader that was killed. But the twist here is that the attacks are not coming from where everyone thinks.

Now that's just the middle of the book. As the rest of the book progresses Sookie's witch room-mate, who is in hiding because she turned her lover into a cat, is found by her coven leader. The Louisiana vampires left weak and low on monetary assets are under attack by the Nevada vampires in hopes that the Nevada King will take over Louisiana and Arkansas.

This book has non-stop action and mysteries in the supernatural as well as the fun humor and wit that is shared through the entire series. I only hope that the next one is just as good.